How We’re Celebrating Pride 2021 with Our Community
By ASTROGLIDE Team
LGBTQ Community
Pride (n.):
- A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.
- Consciousness of one’s own dignity.
The LGBTQ+ community has been an important part of our family since we were founded. When we think of you, we know you are fun, open-minded, courageous, inspiring, celebratory, and obviously, sexy.
The pandemic made life difficult for everyone, especially LGBTQ+ people who disproportionally face mental, financial, and emotional hardship. We want to honor your fun, celebratory spirit for Pride this year by giving back to the community that has given us so much.
With many Pride events canceled or held virtually since 2020 (on top of the social isolation we experienced), we knew everyone is missing one thing most: COMMUNITY.
We chose to support seven LGBTQ+ community centers and social venues around the country, each of which has always been crucial for providing support, community and often chosen family for those who visit them.
Each organization will receive a $10,000 donation to help them keep their doors open and keep their communities connected and strong. Read on to learn about these special places that you, too, have helped support by being our customers so that we can pay it forward!
San Diego
As ASTROGLIDE is manufactured in San Diego County and home to our corporate headquarters, the San Diego LGBTQ+ community and Pride celebration is near and dear to our hearts. San Diego Pride is one of Southern California’s oldest LGBTQ-serving non-profits and our relationship with them goes back nearly a decade. Our annual support of the San Diego Pride celebration helps to fund over 30 year-round programs and events to strengthen the LGBT Community.
Boston
The Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth is a youth-led, adult-supported social support organization, committed to social justice and creating, sustaining, and advocating for programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ+ youth community. Over 40,000 LGBTQ+ youth have benefited from their programs, services, and events since their foundation, and our donations will help support two of their most impactful programs, Host Homes and BAGLY Listens.
The definition of an LGBTQ institution in Boston since it opened in 1983 with a piano bar, cabaret space, brunch spot, and dance club. The bar and restaurant welcomes all and hosts Harbor to the Bay, a one-day bike ride to raise vital funds for 4 AIDS/HIV agencies in the area.
New York City
The Center is the cornerstone of New York City’s LGBTQ community and welcoming home for the more than 6,000 visitors each week. They offer the LGBTQ communities of NYC advocacy, health and wellness programs; arts, entertainment and cultural events; recovery, parenthood and family support services through a wide spectrum of programs which will be supported through ASTROGLIDE’s donation.
New York’s oldest operating gay bar,, it features a rich sense of history and community that you can feel the moment you walk in. Considered an NYC LGBT historic site after a Sip-In at Julius’ led to a change in policy to legitimize gay bars and the development of the bar as the central social space for the LGBTQ community.
Los Angeles
Each month, the Center welcomes more than 50,000 visits from youth and adults who represent the full diversity of the LGBT community; this is more LGBT people than any other organization in the world. Their services and programs span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. Our donation will help support life-sustaining and life-saving programs along with their efforts to support the community through the pandemic.
Through a partnership with The Abbey – one of the most iconic gay bars in the country – ASTROGLIDE will also be supporting:
- The AIDS Monument: A memorial remembering and honoring the more than 650,000 American lives lost to AIDS, and celebrating the courage of activists, caregivers and leaders providing support to the community.
- The Trans Wellness Center: The 3,000-square-foot center is the first-of-its-kind in the United States, raising awareness and providing a range of comprehensive resources and services for transgender and non-binary people.
Oh, and did we mention they each received lube (like… a lot of lube!) to give out as samples? Gotta make sure their patrons are supported in the bedroom too! 😉
We’re proud to support these important organizations, centers, restaurants, bars, and especially the people running them, so they can continue to support and provide safe spaces for LGBTQ+ communities to celebrate their pride.
Pride is not something that starts and stops in June, though, and we’re excited to continue our commitment to celebrating and supporting the vibrant LGBTQ+ communities that have long inspired our team.
HAPPY PRIDE! Let us know how you’re celebrating; You bring the pride, we’ll bring the glide! You can order your own free sample of ASTROGLIDE Personal Lubricant here.